Thanks Primaz, I have been looking at the steering geometry as some say that the R&P causes bump steer, so I am looking carefully at the geometry to try and eliminate any issues. Following what Doug has done before will hopefully have taken a lot of the guesswork out of it as I am sure he also looked at the possible issues.

The kits seem to be to convert from a standard power steering to the rack, the kit does not include a pump, I am hoping someone has done the same thing and can help with pump choice and pulley setup.

This pump from XJS XJ6 looks like it maybe a relatively easy install ?

 

The bump steer is what Walt from Vintage Jag warned me about but after talking with Terry at Jag outlet He has never had that problem with his kit. You mentioned you already have the rack so you can't use his bracket. I think I only paid $490 for the rack so it may be worth getting rid of the rack you have and getting the bracket and rack from Jag outlet. Just a thought & I don't know what your up against with your mod's but if Jag outlet has a kit that has no adverse affect then it may be money well spent.
Lou

 

or you can buy the full kit from evil bay for 2 grand,

 

I got my rack for £70 will fabricate brackets and try and sort out the pump, I can't find a kit on the bay, have you seen a particular supplier that does them ?

 

try this on evil bay 302173621604
I am looking at a pump off I bmw mini one,

 

why? when you can get the complete kit from Jag Outlet for $1400

 

Old thread, but just thought I'd comment on rack & pinion steering kit install. All went well the steering is great have about 500 miles on it and there is no "bump steering" going on. No more play in the steering wheel & car feels much more planted to the road a lot safer feeling. It was a kit from the Jag outlet & I had it professionally installed. Kit plus labor was about 2k well worth it IMO.
Thanks for all replies and advice
lou

 

Lou,
Do you know what your caster setting is and how many shims of what size you are using? To the front of the ball joint and to the rear?
Thanks!
Lin

 

Lin
The Caster shims are all the same size with the exception of the 1 alloy packer, the manual says that the alloy one can even go either side depending on the car, so this must have quite a lot of manufacturing tolerance.

FYI mine has all 5 shims at the front and the packer to the rear at the moment, and I will set it up when its back on the car. But if you read my post re this https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/m...5/#post1623833 you will see the original setup on the car was a mess.

The manual says that a total of 8 shims are required, but this didn't fit as you cant fit the bump stop with 8 shims in place so there must be an error in the manual.

 

Jon,
Thanks. I have the manual, but Lou mentioned that his rack and pinion was complete so I wanted to see where he ended up. Just curious.
Lin

 

Sorry, I can't answer that one as I had it done in a shop. A friend and I were thinking of doing the work but after reading about "bump" steering problems and my almost nil knowledge of steering geometry and alignment. I left it to a pro and I'm glad I did probably the best 700 bucks I've spent on this car. I can email the shop and see if they can answer your question.

 

Ah got it Lin,

I guessed you would have the manual, just pointing out that it appears to be incorrect in terms of the number of shims.

I am curious too, as mine was all over the shop when I got the car, I carefully noted all the positions, but when I came to reassemble and checked the manual, I realized it was all wrong anyhow, so i don't actually know if what I have done is anyway near close, it's just my best guess from the mess I started with !

It would be interesting to get several actual real life shims positions, as this may help me too.

Lou, if you have wire wheels, you may be able to see the shims with the wheels on and let us know ?

 

The kit that Jag Outlet sells is the right one that will not have bump steer but there are ones there that I have heard of issues, probably due to their mounting plate having the wrong angle? As far as alignment, I posted information on another thread about shims. There is no set amount of shims as you should have an alignment shop add/delete the amount of shims to adjust the alignment. FYI, in my opinion the ideal alignment on these saloons is about .50 to 1 degree of negative camber and then adjust the castor & toe to be neutral as a start. For the street an ideal set up for handling is so that the inside inch or two may be bald and the outer tread is at the wear level to change the tire; that way you sacrifice a little excessive wear only on a small amount of the inside tread yet have way more handling.

 

I've been looking into making my own brackets for my MK2, and most importantly focusing on the location and width of the rack to follow the angles of the lower control arms, it seems most racks are a big compromise as to do it properly would require the sump to be modified in a way to sit the steering rack higher and further back than what is on offer.

I guess it really depends on what you want from the car, race track quality handling, or just a nice modern improvement with effortless steering and good feedback

If going to a rack and pinion, i'd definitely suggest a power steering option, and an easy solution would be to use the electric steering pump from a Holden/Opel Astra for example, three wires, and just plumb it into the rack.

 

Which rack are you looking at using, I have made brackets for the XJ6 ZF rack with the variable steering, I have CAD drawings for the component parts for this rack, if you look at my thread https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/m...6/#post1637169 you will see what I did, you can buy the brackets for the other type of XJ6 rack from Jag outlet. If you want the CAD drawings, let me know and I will email them.

 

I think the rack you have used,is the one that beechems use in there mk2
when they put the 4L v8 in,

 

Everyone seems to use the XJ6 rack in the kits available, but I want to check they are the right width before making a purchase, I also have a couple of racks at home from a Ford Falcon and a Holden Commodore, so will see if they might be compatible.

I'm in no rush to do this project yet, its a "I'll get to it one day" project

 

Here's a pic of the before and after for comparison, the original geometry is not perfect neither is the second, but both a pretty close ideally the inner pivot point on the top and lower arms should line up with the pivot point of the inner tie rod pivot point when the car is straight.

The original is inboard of that line, and the new setup is slightly on the outboard side.

Anyway just some info for you.

 

Hello Jon,
I am a brand new member and this is my first post.
I have much enjoyed your epic Mk2 restoration project and hope to emulate your deeds more or less.
I have recently acquired a Mk2 2.4 it's drive able but needs attention to the steering.

After researching my options, which led me to this forum I plan to go the r+p route with a Vauhall/opel electric pump.
You have gained such a vast amount of knowledge regarding the science of the geometry and thus you could save me a great deal
of time so I was hoping you could lead me to gaining the dimensions for the brackets.
This would be a fantastic help to me so i could replicate them for myself.
Looking forward to any help you could give.
Again really enjoy your mk2 posts I've learnt alot!!!
Thomas.

 

Just a bit of info?
Looks like Jag Outlet is closed at this time.
Does anyone know if they reopened under a different name or if someone took it over?

No more R & P Conversion kits from them!
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